Reversible ratchet wrench



Aug. 14, 1956 v H. GOLDWATER 2,758,493

REVERSIBLE RATCHET WRENCH Filed July 20, 1953 F5. 7. W .W

United States Patent REVERSIBLE RATCHET WRENCH Maurice H. Goldwater, Omaha, Nelsr.

Application July 20, 1953, Serial No. 368,922

2 Claims. (Cl. 81-582) This invention relates to ratchet wrenches and more particularly it is an object of this invention to provide an open ratchet wrench having a removable rotary jaw or socket. An open end ratchet wrench can be placed directly on a nut disposed on piping or on electrical conduits or the like and in a position such that the nut is inaccessible from the'end of the nut.

It has long been well known that an open end ratchet wrench would be a very desirable tool. Many attempts have been made to make open end ratchet wrenches. There have been several patents granted on such wrenches.

It is a particular object of my invention to provide a gate which is also hinged at its center whereby the gate can be opened and closed in a lesser amount of space than heretofore.

A further object is to provide a gate which can be hinged in its mid-portion either in one or in a plurality of places.

Still another object is to provide a wrench as described having a ratchet mechanism which can be reversed.

Yet a further object is to provide a wrench with an automatically operating gate locking mechanism which can be quickly released.

Yet a further object is to provide a rotary jaw having two or more portions hinged together whereby the jaw can be placed around a nut prior to the placing of the head of the wrench around the jaw and for use where great force is needed.

A further object is to provide a pawl reversing mechanism adapted to operate two pawls by means of the same control, preferably a lever, whereby speed of adjustment is effected and whereby a minimum of parts are needed for lower cost and fewer parts to wear out.

ice v departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims. i

ltwill be seen that the following drawings and description illustrate one way of carrying out the spirit and principles of my invention and are offered as an example only, it being understood that there are other ways of constructing the tool within the principles of my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the ratchet wrench of this invention, certain open positions of the gate being shown in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the wrench of Figure l as seen from the bottom, with the handle removed.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a modification of the rotary jaw illustrating inserts.

Figure 4 is a right hand view of the insert of Figure 3.

Figure. 5 is a top plan view of a hinged rotatable jaw.

Figure 6 is a view-in-section taken along the line 66 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a view-in-section taken along the line 77 of Figure 1. I

The wrench of this invention has an elongated handle 10 and a head portion generally indicated at 12 suitably attached to one end of the handle 10.

The wrench is'provided with a rotary jaw or socket member generally indicated at 14. The exterior of the jaw member 14 is of a substantially circular shape as seen in top plan view in Figure 1.

The jaw member 14 is generally cylindrical as shown at 16 in Figure 4 and is provided with a set of ratchet teeth 18 extending around the cylindrical exterior 16 and Still another object of the invention is to provide a wrench adapted for use on chromium nuts and other polygonal surfaces in places in which smooth finish is desired, the wrench being provided with soft material for engaging the smooth surfaces to prevent marring of the surface during wrenching.

At present plumbers are using leather straps wrapped around the nut and then they manually pull an end of the strap in order to turn the nut, however, these leather straps break easily and a plumber can break a number of straps in a days work. Furthermore, it is not possible to completely tighten a nut with the leather strap method.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a wrench having a leather insert fitting between the jaw surfaces so as to make possible a complete and harmless wrenching of a smooth surface.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, drawings and claims, the scope of the invention not being limited to the drawings themselves as the drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating a way in which the principles of this invention can be applied.

Other embodiments of the invention utilizing the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without fixed thereto at a center thereof spaced upwardlyfrom the lower side 20 of the jawmember 14 and spaced downwardly from the upper side 22 of the jaw member 14. The teeth 18 are equidistantly spaced apart and extend outwardly from the exterior 16, being received in a groove 30 in the head 12 as indicated in dotted lines in Figure l. The groove 30 functions as a trackway for rotatably receiving the jaw 14. The ratchet teeth 18 preferably extend around the exterior 16 a distance greater than a semi-circle.

Rotary jaw 14 is provided with a center opening 34 having a wall 36 of a shape for gripping a polygonal object. It will be seen that the opening 34 can open upon the exterior of the jaw as shown in Figure 1 or can be of other shapes within the principle of gripping a nut or other polygonal object.

The hinged gate indicated generally by the numeral 36 is hinged to the body 12 by means of the hinge 42. The gate itself is shown in the drawing as composed of two sections 38 and 40 hinged at its mid-portion at 44.

The present disclosure shows a gate composed of two sections. This gate may conceivably be made up of two or more sections as desired. A pair of pawls 48 and 56 are received in insets in the head 12 contiguous to the groove 30.

A pawl 48 is hinged at 50 in the head member 12 and is provided with a pair of oppositely operating dogs 52 and 54 adapted for engagement with the teeth 18. A similar pawl 56 is positioned in a recess in the head 12 diametrically opposite to the pawl 48. The pawl 56 is provided also with a pair of dog members 58 and 60 also adapted for engagement with tooth memberslS on the jaw member 14. The dogs 52 and 58 have an operative connection with the rod or wire 62 which lies in a recess in the head. When the dog 58 engages a tooth 18 as shown in Figure 6 it will be seen that movement of the jaw member 14 in the direction of the arrow A is prevented.

A spring 51 rests in a recess in the head 12 placed diametrically opposite to similar construction already described. Said spring everts pressure on the ball 53 which in turn cooperates with the cam surface 55 on the pawl 48, holding it in the position of rest.

The pawl 56 is provided with a cam surface 64. The pawl member 56 is pivoted at 57. A ball 66 biased by the spring 49 holds the pawl member in position. When the trigger member 63 is flipped in either direction, the direction of possible rotation of the jaw' 14 within the head 12 is reversed.

The plunger 74 biased by the spring 76, fits into the recess 78 in the reduced portion 70 of the end of the gate member 36 and serves as a lock for the gate. Pressure on the trigger member 72 downwardly as it is shown in Figure 7 releases the locking engagement of the plunger and the gate is allowed to open.

Figure 3 shows a modification. In Figure 3 the jaw 80 is provided with a polygonal recess 82. The member 84 may be metal or leather for the purpose of eliminating marring and its size may be varied to accommodate different sizes of nuts.

A ball 86 is held in a recess in the jaw 80 and is biased by a spring 87 held in the recess by a screw 88 to provide pressure on the member 84 to hold it in place.

In Figure the'clamping jaw 89 forms a closed clamping means and is composed of two members 90 and 91 hinged at 92, and carrying teeth 93 on a closed circumferential surface. When closed together the jaw forms a completely closed polygonal clamping surface.

From the foregoing description it is thought to be obvious that a ratchet wrench constructed in accordance with my invention is particularly wellgadapted for use, by reason of the convenience and facility with which it may be assembled and operated, and it will also be obvious that my invention is susceptible of some change and modification without departing from the principles and spirit thereof, and for this reason I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise formation and arrangement of the several parts herein shown in carrying out my invention in practice except as claimed.

I claim:

1. In a ratchet wrench a cylindrical jaw member, a head for detachably receiving said jaw member, a gate on said head, said gate having a plurality of hinged sections, means for locking said gate, said jaw member being provided with a set of ratchet teeth extending around the cylindrical exterior and fixed thereto, a groove in said head for receiving said teeth and functioning as a trackway for rotatably receiving said jaw member, a wire lying in said groove, a pair of recesses in said head at substantially diametrical opposed positions, one recess being positioned near the lock on said gate, the second being positioned near the attaching hinge of said gate, a cam member pivotally mounted in said first mentioned recess, a second cam member pivotally mounted in said second mentioned recess, each of said cam members being provided with a pair of pawls, said pawls being adapted to selectively engage either a tooth of said jaw member or an end of said wire member, a shaft on the first mentioned cam member, a manually operated handle on said shaft for rocking said cam member and reversing the engage ment of said pawls, said wire member constituting means for transmitting an activating force from one cam member to the other whereby restraint is released for rotation of the jaw member in one direction and applied for rotation of the jaw member in the opposite direction.

2. A ratchet wrench comprising a head having an open side, a jaw member insertable into and removable from the open side of said head, said jaw member and said head being adapted for relative rotary motion, a handle, a gate member pivotally secured to said head at one side of said opening and adapted for latching engagement with said head at the opposite side of said opening, said gate member comprising a plurality of hinged portions and being of a shape to permit rotation of said jaw member and its removal from said head, a groove on the interior circumferential surface of said head, means for restraining the rotation of said jaw member within said head in a selected direction, and means for releasing said restraint and at the same time pawl means for restraint of rotation of the jaw member within the head member in the opposite direction, said restraining and releasing means comprising a wire member adapted to lie in the interior circumferential groove of said head, a pair of recesses diametrically situated in said head, each of said recesses receiving a cam member, a pawl member on each of said cam members adapted for engagement and release from engagement with an end of said wire member, an arbor providing a pivot for one of said cam'members, said arbor terminat ing in a manually operable handle for rocking said cam member and engaging and releasing the pawl of said cam member thereby transmitting activation through said wire member to a pawl positioned on the cam member at the diametrically opposite side, a second pair of recesses in said head contiguous to said first-mentioned recesses, a spring and a ball member disposed in each of said second mentioned recesses and adapted for engagement with said cam members to hold them in any position of rest.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 529,982 Wakefield Nov. 27, 1894 732,055 Donavan June 30, 1903 1,060,185 Hitt Apr. 29, 1913 1,658,075 Butt Feb. 7, 1928 2,099,601 Fields Nov. 16, 1937 2,376,575 Cronan May 22, 1945 2,456,838 Peterson ct al. Dec. 21, 1948 2,536,172. Halperiu Jan. 2, 2,594,684 Rothe Apr. 29, 1952 2,637,236 Vergrani et al. May 5, 1953 

